Our Favourite Travel Solutions

On the road again....

At Cloud 9 Naturally, we travel a lot. We do over 15 trade shows a year, plus conferences, and vacations. Last year we flew 19 times together, from tropical to cold, plus 38 to minus 45. We drive a lot too: 35,000-45,000 km per year. We’ve had good food, bad food, blisters and bites, lost luggage, delayed flights, stitches, tooth aches, hit and run, theft, and more. Hopefully we can share some of our travel tips we’ve learned along the way!

Burton luggage

We discovered Burton luggage six years ago. Burton is designed for snowboarders, skateboarders, etc. They have heavy duty skateboard wheels and stand up to almost everything an airport can throw at it. They stretch and cinch, which is a good thing as we frequently fly with our trade show booth in our luggage. Over six years and more than 100 flights, our luggage is still fully intact. Burton comes in a variety of sizes, patterns and colours, which makes it easier to identify on the baggage carousel.  Burton luggage also comes with an extra, nylon bag just in case you are over the weight limit and need a carry on or extra checked bag. You will not regret this investment if you travel a lot.

TIP: Always make sure you can spot your bag easily. It saves time and jostling at the carousel and can prevent theft and mistakes. If you have basic black luggage, tag your bags with decals or badges, velcro handle covers, colourful ribbons, etc.

Lug bags and purses

Lug is our all time favourite for carry on! They have awesome bags for men and women. Four wheels for easy maneuvering, fits in the overhead bins, pockets everywhere and for everything, easy to wipe clean, goes everywhere and fits tons of stuff. We have brought back large pottery bowls, a week's worth of clothes, brochures, and even a crock pot! We use our Lug bags for trade shows, travel, business meetings, overnights and as a small suitcase when needed. With all our trade shows, conferences, and other road trips, that’s a lot of wear and tear! But our Lug bags stand up beautifully.

We love their purses too. One of their new ones has pockets for pens and paper, business cards, credit cards, a hook for your keys, 2 water bottle pockets on the side, a tablet pocket, a phone pocket, book/paperwork pocket, large interior with more pockets, and a strap to slid over your pull along luggage.

Recommended carry on items that you might not have
considered:

• Extra change of clothes: missing luggage happens, accidental spills and quick change from cold to hot country. This includes underwear!

• Earplugs: uncomfortable babies on flights, sleeping on plane, loud people, noisy hotels

• Tablet with earphones or book: to keep yourself occupied on long flights and long waits. Noise cancelling ear buds can double as ear plugs. Make sure they're not uncomfortable!

• Gum or hard candy: for landing and taking off - helps with the pressure in your ears

• Travel deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste to freshen up

• Pepto, Gravol, any other minor relief you may need

• Extra ziplock bag... just because

• Mercy MSM: under 100ml, great for leg cramping, sore, stiff necks and back on your flight

• 4 Thieves travel kit: One of the worst places to pick up colds and flu. Spray hands and fold down
  trays. Can also be used in hotels for door knobs, counter tops, etc.

• Small snack: granola bar, dried fruit and nuts, jerky, etc. Always comes in handy and cheaper than food on the plane or in airport, especially now that many flights are not offering complimentary snacks or meal services

• Travel Mugs: Bodum 15 oz travel mugs! A must have for travelers everywhere. Stainless steel, dishwasher safe, cool to the touch, comes in french press to make your own tea or coffee. Keeps hot drinks hot for hours and we've had ice cubes not melted after 12 hours! We each carry two of them - one for hot beverage in the morning and another with something cold for later. Just make sure they are empty when you go through security at the airport!

• Laptops, tablets, cameras and other expensive doo-dads: at some point you may experience theft from your luggage. Leave your jewelry at home!

• Charger cords and power adapters!

• Prescription drugs: you don't want to be without these in the event of lost or stolen luggage!

• Reactine: they are now allowing cats and dogs on the plane with people, so if you have allergies you will want to make sure you have something to ward against this